Misplaced laptop leads to University of Memphis evacuation

Misplaced laptop leads to U of M evacuation

The University of Memphis evacuated Dunn Hall, the university’s math and foreign languages complex about 9 a.m. Monday after a janitor found a wrapped package in a stairway and reported it to university police.

University spokesman Curt Guenther estimated more than 100 students and faculty members were evacuated for two hours while the Memphis Police investigated the package and ran it through an X-ray scanner. He said the package was about 1 foot by 2 feet, wrapped in paper and bound with blue tape. Guenther said police found a laptop computer in the box and traced it to its owner.

The owner told police he was planning to ship the computer back to the manufacturer because of a broken screen, but somehow lost track of it and left it in the building during the weekend, Guenther said.